


Shartan 10:1 (A Reckoning from On High)

by smithy_of_words



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Elves still exist, Everything else is unchanged, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-10
Updated: 2016-03-10
Packaged: 2018-05-25 20:45:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6209458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smithy_of_words/pseuds/smithy_of_words
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Modern zombie-esque one-shot, where the Darkspawn are a shambling horde, and Leliana has a sniper rifle.<br/>All other characters and races (like elves) remain the same.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shartan 10:1 (A Reckoning from On High)

     The streets were covered in twisted metal and broken glass—remnants of cars either destroyed or siphoned for gasoline, then left to rust.

     Everywhere, there were fragments of lives left behind. Sometimes blood stains.

     It was deathly quiet, and the sky stretched for miles, as far as the eye could see, unmarred by planes or clouds.

     All save the young woman who panted as she ran down the highway, head turning back every few paces to gauge how close her pursuers were.  She wore a large canvas bag—military—seemingly stuffed to the brim with supplies, and it _whacked_ against her back with each stride.

     About one-hundred meters back, the horde of Darkspawn shambled forward, groans further permeating the formerly still and slightly humid air. The creatures’ clothing was tattered and falling to pieces, much like their owners often were, faces distorted, and skin seemingly melting off their lean frames.

     The woman continued running, ducking around the empty cars and rubble, beginning to tire.

     Suddenly, the toe of her boot caught on a hunk of metal, and she fell…straight on a layer of glass from a shattered window pane. Instinctually, she threw her hands out to stop her fall, but they ended up missing most of the jagged pieces, only suffering a few cuts.

     The horde seemed to increase its speed, the monstrous creatures spurred on by the scent of blood.

     “Shit!” The woman hissed, pushing herself to her feet, trying to salvage what goods she could that had spilled from her pack during the fall.

     Within an instant, something had grabbed her leg, growling and roaring. She flailed her arms behind her wildly, striking the monster in the face, and managing to wriggle free of its grasp.

     But more of them had surrounded her, penning her in.

     Her head whipped around as she looked desperately for an exit.

     There wasn’t one.

     The Darkspawn were closing in.

 

     All of a sudden, the figure closest to her crumpled to the ground, a hole in its head. Its mouth was still gaping open in its last snarl.

     Several other figures followed suit, their faces torn apart from a bullet’s impact.

_Hollow point._

     As the creatures toppled over, there was a break in their horde, and the woman made a run for it.

     She dashed off the broken asphalt, vaulting over the old guardrail, and rushed through the fields, disappearing in the tree line on the hill. 

 

     It took a few minutes to make it to the top of the rise, and when she finally made it, she collapsed to the ground, huffing and puffing.

     What had almost happened finally caught up with her, and she retched into the dirt, breathing heavily. 

 

     Suddenly the bushes rustled, and the woman snapped her head up, wiping the spit from the corner of her mouth with the back of her balled fists.

     Another young woman with fiery copper hair appeared in the clearing, sniper rifle in her arms.

 

     “Maker’s blood, Leli! You scared the crap out of me,” the woman on the ground panted.

     Leliana frowned, “I’m sorry, Kaia. I didn’t mean to startle you. Are you all right? They didn’t get their hands on you, did they?”

     Kaia shook her head, “No, thanks to your help. I appreciate it, really, I do. I thought I was done for back there.”

     Leliana grinned and helped Kaia to her feet. “Your hands! I saw you take an awful fall. We’ll have to have Wynne look at it when we get back.”

     “I lost all that gear. Damn it to the void, Cassandra’s going to be pissed. Now the Darkspawn have it, as if things couldn’t go worse.”

 

     The two walked down the other side of the hill in silence, back to their makeshift fort.

     Leliana slung her rifle over her shoulder.

 

     “So, I guess all that practice is paying off,” Kaia said after a while.

     “I’ll say.”

     The two stopped and embraced.

     “I almost lost you today,” Leliana sighed, suddenly exhausted.

     Kaia smiled, “Yeah, but you wouldn’t have let that happen.”

     Leliana smiled softly, then wrinkled her delicate nose, “I love you dearly…but Maker, you need a bath.”

     Kaia pulled back, smelling her armpits with a sour look on her face. Her pointed ears lowered.

    “Ugh, gross. There goes the moment. I’ll have to see if Duncan will help me…procure some extra shower time. You can join me if you want, though I can’t promise I’ll do anything but scrub this shit off me,” Kaia gestured to the mud and blood covering her body and clothing.

     Leliana laughed, “I’ll see if I can’t get us some actual hot water and soap. Anders got that generator hooked up, so it might work.”

 

     They continued their walk back, talking of happier times…and anything other than Darkspawn.

 

     The day was a write-off as far as the Wardens were concerned, but there would be other days and other victories.

     The Blight would be ended one day, and one fight, at a time.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm usually not a huge fan of zombie apocalypse AUs, but this just popped into my head during a tumblr inspired Wednesday night writing sprint.  
> I think the Blight is a pretty good parallel with modern ideas of shambling hordes that destroy everything in their paths.  
> Let me know what you think, since I'm kind of going out on a limb here.
> 
> (Non-Beta'd)
> 
> \--As a side note, here is some music I listened to while writing this: Between Two Mysteries by Mount Eerie, Philomena and Better Not Wake the Baby by the Decemberists, Warm Foothills by Alt-J, and Can You Blame the Sky by Alela Diane.  
> I'd highly recommend all these tracks, for reading, writing, just listening...or running away from any stray hordes you may come across. : )  
> Enjoy!


End file.
